Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Challenge

Redesign an historic cathedral interior to create a truly sacred space that reflects the cathedral’s importance in the Catholic and local civic communities and encourages participation in the church’s liturgical rites.

Process

Our team collaborated closely with the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese to ensure the renovation design supported the church’s goals of modifying the interior plan to better support the cathedral’s liturgical and ritual use and create an interior consistent with the architectural style of the exterior.

Solution

The completed renovation of this 1883 cathedral unites the exterior and interior architectural styles and has the overall effect of light and unity supported by meticulous detail. Only the stained glass windows, which were magnificently restored, remain from a previous mid-fifties remodel. Responding to the church’s desire for the sanctuary to be more “among the people,” the redesign included moving the altar forward and creating a new seating arrangement.